


Falling

by RiverTalesien



Category: The 100 (TV), clexa - Fandom
Genre: Clarke is also a klutz, Clarke needs some pampering, Clexa, Clexa Week, Clexa Week 2018, Day 7, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Free day, Holiday, Lexa is a little reclusive, Raven is a little stinker, Romance, Search and Rescue, Skiing, Sleigh rides, Snowed In, Winter, cabin fever, hot tubs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 10:36:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverTalesien/pseuds/RiverTalesien
Summary: For Clexa Week 2018 -Clarke and her BFF Raven take a nostalgia-fueled trip to Christmasy Sky Lodge for a little skiing, a little relaxation and the occasional snowy mishap.Fortunately for Clarke's sometimes clumsy self, there is a gorgeous Search and Rescue volunteer always around - but she has no idea how close they might be getting, thanks to some serious winter weather.“I want rescue babe to give me a long, slow rub down and cook for me and wash my hair and eat me out until I die. Is that so wrong? Am I asking for too much?”Settling herself on the bed, Raven patted her knee.“It’s the season of miracles, Clarke, and you have great tits. There’s always hope.”





	Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Just taking a little break from Closer, but no worries, I'll be updating soon! 
> 
>  
> 
> Questions, wanna chat? You can hmu on Tumblr @rivertalesien.

Clarke watched from the window of the dining car as snow rushed by, coating the countryside and the trees of the mountain forest. She grew excited at the thought of the weekend, three whole days, just relaxing at the old Sky Lodge, enjoying a little Christmas atmosphere and cheer with her best and oldest friend, Raven. She felt wistful, a little childlike, with fading memories of childhood visits with her parents, learning to ski (well, a little), and building entire armies of snow with her dad. This was her first time back in years and she secretly prayed she wouldn’t be overwhelmed with memories of him. She needs this break so much. 

Passengers, mostly middle-aged parent-types with an awkward teen or two, tottered in and out of the car, some trying to keep their voices respectfully low, others announcing their excitement with unabashed glee. Clarke noticed how the kids interacted with one another while parents sat on phones, making texts or checking messages, barely looking up when they spoke. Attendants hurried by wheeling trays of food and drinks, no one paying them much mind. 

 

A voice came over the train’s intercom:

 

“Passengers for Sky Lodge and Ski Resort, arrival is in twenty minutes. Please have your baggage ready, be sure to check your seats or cabins so nothing is left behind and prepare to disembark. Twenty minutes. Attendants will be available to help you.”

 

The announcement of their approaching destination had her returning to the cabin she shared with her friend, already packed up and eager to disembark. Lifting a single sports bag from a bunk, Raven pushed it toward her.

 

“Get your ass in gear, Griffin, its playtime as soon as we check in.” 

 

Clarke caught the bag with a slight grunt, almost dropping it and frowned.

 

“You want to hit the slopes this early? I’m ready for the hot tub.”

 

Raven pushed her friend into the corridor with a huff. 

 

“Hot tub is for later, Clarke, when we’ve made a couple of friends who can appreciate a pair of scorching babes in bikinis.” 

 

“Are you that determined to get us laid?” 

 

Raven gave her the Eye.

 

“Merry Christmas, baby.” 

 

====================================

 

The lodge is just as Clarke remembered from her many childhood trips, from the large wooden A-framed exteriors to the great hall with its polished wood floors, bearskin rugs, and the silvery chandelier. The worn leather club chairs with stone tables and brass lamps. The rustic feel of the old stone fireplace, blazing, and the large moose antlers over the mantle. The tall Douglas fir in the center, decorated in gauzy gold ribbons, gold lights and silvery baubles. Beneath the tree, an ornate throne of twisted branches and holly and a large sign in gold for an impending visit from Santa. A strong scent of cinnamon and pine from the large wooden bowls of cones scattered here and there. She feels a surge of bittersweet nostalgia as Raven collects their room keys and guides them to the stairs. 

 

“I used to play hide and seek with the front desk agents and drove them nuts.” 

 

Raven nodded toward the downstairs.

 

“That redhead looked like she wouldn’t mind playing a little something with you. Might be fun.” 

 

Clarke shook her head, not ready to go there, as they found their room. 

 

Through the lacquered wood door, their room laid decked out in holiday finery: two queen beds in twisted log frames with red reindeer quilts; an electric fireplace with fake logs and beside it, a small fir tree with simple red and gold decorations. Above the fireplace, a flat screen television disturbed the quaint atmosphere. Otherwise, Clarke felt they might as well be stepping back in time. 

 

“Please tell me we’ve got a view of the lake.” 

 

Dropping her bag on the closest bed, Clarke rushed to the patio door and stepped outside, her boots crunching in the pileup of snow. 

 

“Just barely. Wow, it finally stopped snowing for five minutes.”

 

Setting her own bag beside the second Queen, Raven turned back to the door. 

 

“Good time to hit the chairs, Griff. Let’s get our gear and do some showing off.” 

 

“You mean _you_ get to show off, right? I’m gonna land on my ass before we reach the slopes.” 

 

Raven patted her back as they headed out the door.

 

“Just make sure you look good doing it. That’s all that matters.”

 

==================================

 

Navigating a chair lift might be easy for some: you just bend your knees a little and wait to be scooped up. For Clarke, it was a nerve-wracking adventure, feeling ungainly bundled in her rented ski gear, and a little nauseous as the lift began to climb toward the first slope. 

 

_Don’t look down, Griffin. Don’t. Look. Down._

 

Most of the chairs were empty, only a handful of determined skiers and snowboarders this time of day, so many preferring to wait for the more popular night skiing. 

 

To her left, Raven was smiling to herself, flexing her fingers around the grips of her poles, eager to make some downhill speed in fine packed powder. Clarke thought she looked like a pro in her cap and goggles, her trim figure well outlined in the form-fitting outfit she chose. 

 

“Almost there, Clarke. Get ready to party.” 

 

Raven knew Clarke wasn’t the best of skiers, but she always put a brave foot forward, willing to try anything, and the first slope wouldn’t be much of a challenge for either of them. A nice, casual run at best, not too exciting, but a good starter. 

 

Clarke felt a little impressed with herself when she managed to drop from the chair and clear the lane, instead of face planting in the snow. She followed Raven to the start, and both watched a group of four lacing neatly around one another on their way to the bottom. 

“Out of the way, bitches!” 

 

Clarke barely had a moment to pull on her goggles as she watched her friend push off and did her best to catch up. 

The initial swoop of fear passed quickly as she wove comfortably down the hill, moving with a grace she didn’t know she had, even passing Raven at one point, though not for long. 

 

Pushing herself to catch up again, Clarke realized she was about to make a slight miscalculation as she felt a small drop and began to veer unsteadily off the course, toward a small juncture of trees. 

 

“Shit!” 

 

She did her best to slow and wedge to a stop, but panic had taken a hold and she found herself, moments later, bending to avoid a large branch before landing on her side in a snow bank, her legs extended and her skis sticking out from the snow. 

 

“Fuck my life.”

 

Happy to have stopped, but not so pleased to have crashed in the first place, she quickly removed her helmet and assessed a lack of injuries, but still had trouble convincing herself to stand up. The skis simply wouldn’t cooperate. 

 

“Why me, Jesus? Why me?” 

 

Before she could give a cry out for help, however, she felt herself being lifted from behind, strong arms linked around her sides, gently pushing her upright. 

 

“There you go.”

 

Her rescuer’s voice was so soft she wasn’t sure she heard it. 

 

“Thank you, so much, I feel so stupid.”

 

Confident she wouldn’t fall over, her savior moved into her field of vision, cheeks pink from the cold, with eyes clear and wintergreen. 

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Clarke felt herself a little tongue-tied at the tall, striking figure before her, wearing the bright red of Search and Rescue volunteers, and an expression of amused concern. 

 

“Oh, sure, absolutely. I do this for a living.” 

 

The stranger gave a quiet laugh and smiled, reaching up to tuck back the long braid of her hair whipping around her cheek.

 

“Let me walk you back to the camp, make sure you’re not too banged up. Are you alone?” 

 

Clarke shook her head and adjusted her skis to follow the other woman through the snow.

 

“No, my friend Raven is with me. Ready to give me a hard time, no doubt.” 

 

Her rescuer smiled again, a lop-sided smirk, and Clarke felt the urgent palpitations of her heart, and wondered if she shouldn’t have had a physical before the trip. 

 

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t make too much fun of you.”

 

Clarke marveled a little at the woman’s ability to glide through the snow with hardly any effort. She felt like her own legs were on fire. 

 

“Good luck with that. Hope you got a plan. Raven is hardcore.”

 

At that, her rescuer stopped and turned toward her, stretching to her full height and offered an intimidating scowl to scare the clouds away.

 

“Wow.” 

 

“Sort of a trademark. You think it’ll work?” 

 

Clarke couldn’t help but laugh a little as the woman’s expression relaxed back into a gentle smile. 

 

“It just might. Hey, my name’s Clarke, by the way.”

 

“Lexa.” 

 

==========================================

 

“How did you manage to land on your ass so quick, Clarke? And how is it you did not get rescue babe’s number? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

 

Clarke rolled her eyes as she fell backward onto her bed and groaned. 

 

“I’m a loser, Raven. The Griff has lost her game. I’m getting old.” 

 

A pillow landed, with force, on her face.

 

“You’re so full of shit. We haven’t even had lunch yet.”

 

“I’m not hungry.”

 

“Did you see the way rescue babe was checking you out? _That_ is what I call hungry.” 

 

Clarke raised her head and threw the pillow back at her friend.

 

“She was making sure I didn’t have any injuries, Raven!” 

 

Raven shrugged and shook her head.

 

“Call it what you want. She was ready to _go downtown_ , Clarkey. Get it together, babe. This might be your weekend.” 

 

Falling back against her pillows, again, Clarke closed her eyes and sighed. 

 

“I just want the hot tub.” 

 

“We’re getting lunch, Clarke.”

 

Ignoring her, Clarke went on.

 

“I want rescue babe to give me a long, slow rub down and cook for me and wash my hair and eat me out until I die. Is that so wrong? Am I asking for too much?”

 

Settling herself on the bed, Raven patted her knee.

 

“It’s the season of miracles, Clarke, and you have great tits. There’s always hope.” 

 

Clarke opened her eyes and gave her friend a grateful smile.

 

“I do have great tits. Thanks, Rae.” 

 

“Cool. Can we eat now?” 

 

==========================================

The most popular item on the hotel restaurant menu, as Clarke remembered, was the fondue. Her parents had always ordered it and it had been her father’s favorite. A warm pot of melting, gooey cheese mixed with beer, and plates of diced bread, sausages and small vegetables. 

As the waiter approached with their order, Clarke felt a wistful pang that dulled her hunger somewhat. The smells were all the same, the décor, and the chairs; even the menus were all the same. She could almost imagine her ten-year old self, hopped up with excitement, snow boots tapping on the floor as snow melted beneath them into the carpet, smiling at her father as he showed her how to use the skewers. 

 

“Hey, where’d you go?” 

 

Raven was already dipping a chunk of bread into the cheese when Clarke realized she had drifted off. Reaching for a skewer, she stabbed a piece of sausage and raised it to the pot. 

 

“Nowhere, sorry. I was thinking about the first time I ate here. This place has barely changed.”

 

The sweet of the smoked meat and the savory tang of the cheese were a perfect compliment, and Clarke nearly moaned at the flavor, quickly skewering her next piece, shoving Raven’s attempt aside.

 

“Hey, slow down, Mavis. We’ve got all day.” 

 

“We should have ordered two.” 

 

Smiling with her mouth full of the delicious treat, Clarke’s eyes were caught by the arrival of a small group of red coats, a tall brunette in particular, and she found herself swallowing too soon and too hard. 

 

“You okay?” 

 

Trying to stifle her cough and the tears that accompanied it, Clarke covered her face in a napkin and shook her head. 

 

“Went down the wrong way.”

 

Following her friend’s eyes, Raven noticed Rescue Babe seated not far off, close to the enormous stone fireplace. 

 

“Well. There’s someone who probably knows how to go down the right way. Maybe you should ask her for help?” 

 

Recovering, and blushing scarlet, Clarke tossed a small carrot at Raven’s head.

 

“Shut up!”

 

“Seriously. You should invite her over. She did save your ass this morning.”

 

Dipping the carrot into the cheese, Raven gave her best innocent smile. Clarke wasn’t about to have it.

 

“First, I was in no danger and she didn’t “save” me. She just helped me up. Second, she’s probably forgotten about it already and third, she’s with her team and they’d probably like to eat in peace.” 

 

Raven’s eyebrow shot up as Clarke kept giving herself away by staring over at the other woman, who was sitting quietly while her team chatted away. She might have been bored for all Clarke knew, but the moment the woman’s eyes caught hers, she felt nothing but excitement. 

Clarke felt dumbfounded as the woman raised her hand and waved a little, enough so that Raven lifted her hand for her to wave back.

 

“Hey, stop that.” 

 

“Rescue babe is interested, Clarke and you haven’t been laid in a year. Get. It” 

 

Glaring at her friend, Clarke grabbed her skewer and stabbed two pieces of bread into the steaming pot. 

 

“I’m trying to eat here, Raven.” 

 

Raven nodded to Rescue Babe who had begun fiddling with a table knife while a waitress took her team’s orders. 

 

“Look at the poor thing. She’s starving. You should offer her something. You know you want to.” 

 

Giving her friend a final glare, Clarke stuffed her mouth with the cheese-covered bread, and huffed with annoyance as a gooey glob landed on the front of her shirt. 

 

“Fuck my life.” 

 

==============================

 

Evenings at the lodge were aglow with pre-holiday activities: for the children, there were visits with Santa in the great hall, rides in horse drawn sleighs and a snowman-building competition. Adults were entertained with live music in the bar, dancing and, what Clarke was most looking forward to.

 

“I mean it, Rae, my body needs a break from falling down. I am going to get a rub down to relax me within an inch of my life and then I’m going to soak my sore, gorgeous tush in a spa until I prune. Fight me.” 

 

Helping with the skis as they walked back from the lifts to the lodge, Raven smirked and nodded, using a free hand to pat Clarke’s snow-covered bottom. 

 

“Am I holding you back? No. But I really feel we should invite those guys who checked in this afternoon. They looked a little on the lost, lonely and in need of temporary companionship side.” 

 

Clarke snorted.

 

“They looked like football frat boys who have never done more than body shots off a basement ping pong table. Pass.” 

 

“Too bad rescue babe and her squad disappeared.”

 

“They’re volunteers, Rae. Probably only work one day a month.”

 

As if the universe felt the need to contradict her, Clarke was immediately chastened by the arrival of a horse-drawn sleigh and its driver: rescue babe herself.

 

“Would you ladies like a lift?” 

 

Momentarily dumbfounded, Clarke found herself prodded with a ski pole and began to nod, words failing her. 

 

Smiling, Raven lifted herself up into the back of the sleigh with all their gear, leaving Clarke the only option of sitting up front with the driver. 

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Shaking herself out of her brief stupor, pausing only to glare at Raven’s toothy grin, Clarke reached out for the hand offered to her. 

 

“I’m fine, thanks. Never been on a sleigh, actually.”

 

From the back, Raven’s voice was filled with innuendo.

 

“But she _really_ needs a ride today, so you’ve made her happy.” 

 

Pulling a heavy tartan blanket across their laps, Rescue Babe gave Clarke a gentle nod.

 

“Well, I do live to serve.”

 

Settling into the small space, thighs touching under the warm covering, Clarke felt a flush of warmth up her spine and across her cheeks - and she could almost hear Raven's smirk from behind her. 

 

Giving the reins a small snap, Rescue Babe relaxed her arms as the sleigh began to glide slowly through the well-plowed path toward the lodge. Turning to her passenger, she held out the leather strap.

 

“Would you like to give it a try? I don’t mind.” 

 

Clarke stared at the driver’s gloveless hands for a moment, impressed at the strength of the long, slim fingers, imagining their gentleness and dexterity…what they must feel like rubbing and massaging tense shoulders…caressing bare thighs or other…sensitive areas…before a cough from behind broke her reverie. 

 

“I think Clarke prefers to be the one that gets handled, actually.” 

 

“Raven!” 

 

Embarrassed beyond belief, Clarke smiled apologetically at the red-faced driver before turning to give Raven a dangerous glare. 

“Hey, you know what? I think I left my goggles back at the lifts…would you mind stopping? I’ll just run back to get them.”

 

Bringing the sleigh to a halt, the driver turned and offered a hand to help Raven out. 

 

“Would you like us to wait?” 

 

Landing on the ground, Raven waved her off.

 

“No, thanks, that's okay. You guys go on ahead.” 

 

Wide-eyed, Clarke tried to communicate via inflamed expression, but Raven only grinned and ran back toward the lift. 

 

“See ya later, Griffy!” 

 

Turning slowly back in her seat and straightening the blanket, Clarke only shrugged at the beautiful woman with eyes as deep as the forest smiling back at her.

 

“I guess it’s just you and me then.” 

 

Clarke returned the smile, letting herself drift a little closer to her companion, as she snapped the reins and they set off once again down the path, a purple-pink and red sunset flushing gently across the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like! Please let me know if you'd like to see this story continue!


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